Chapter 36: 36 Audition (2)
Chapter 36: 36 Audition (2)
The female antagonist’s role is the standard villain in commercial films, glamorous, fierce, a daughter of a wealthy family, domineering, visibly less appealing to audiences than the female lead, thus there were far fewer auditions for this role than for the lead.
Unlike Shang Feifei’s polite restraint, Li Yiru flaunted her beauty and figure openly. As soon as she entered, she greeted everyone with exuberant enthusiasm, then turned to Bo Yan, her gaze direct and heated, “I’ve always wanted to work with Teacher Bo, and I hope 1 get the chance this time.”
The others also teased with a smile, “What, you don’t honor Director Wang with the same regard?”
They were aware of the trending topic from the Gold Oscar Awards day and knew it was a running joke. Li Yiru was merely playing upon this meme. Bo Yan’s expression was indifferent as he uttered just two words, “Good luck.”
The audition began quickly, and Li Yiru performed a short scene from the script. Her acting wasn’t as good as Shang Feifei’s, but her appearance matched the second female lead’s description quite closely. Plus, she wasn’t asking for a high payment, which, to the producers, was still attractive.
Although the directors were somewhat inclined towards Li Yiru, the auditions hadn’t ended yet, so they let her step out to rest a bit.
Just as Li Yiru headed out, she ran head-on into Shang Feifei coming out of the makeup room.
Li Yiru greeted her directly, “Sister Shang, we meet again.”
Shang Feifei gave a faint nod in response.
Li Yiru smiled radiantly, “Perhaps we’ll be working together again soon. I look forward to your guidance, Sister Shang.”
“Who knows?”
The two brushed past each other.
One’s smile turned instantly disdainful: Green tea.
The other internally scoffed: Man-stealer.
The auditions continued.
Although there were fewer sign-ups for the second female lead, there were still seven or eight, and with each doing a self-introduction and stage performance, it took about an hour.
Added to the auditions for the lead role, Bo Yan and the others had been sitting for three hours.
As the last candidate for the female antagonist was reviewed, they finally began to relax. They had a rough idea of whom to choose and whom not to.
The next half-hour was allocated for internal discussions.
Bo Yan found it dull, so he decided to push the door open and step outside.
The sky seemed a bit overcast, with faint thunder, suggesting it might rain.
Bo Yan stood by the window, looked outside for a long time, and curled his lips into a mocking smirk.
The opportunity had come, but they had failed to seize it. What use was the spectator’s anxiety if the person involved didn’t make the effort?
Just as he was about to turn back, a sudden rush of car noises came from outside.
A red sports car raced into the courtyard, came to a screeching halt with a drift, and stopped right below the building.
Xia Siyu arrived in a hurry. By the time she had finished reading the script, the female lead was almost chosen. She had barely put on any makeup, almost presenting a bare face. She had thrown on a simple black shirt-style long dress and tied her hair into a plain ponytail.
The actors waiting for their turn, only a few with significant status had private resting rooms, most were outside along the hallway.
Seeing Xia Siyu’s arrival, the murmurs of discussion burst forth.
Bo Yan’s face first registered shock, his frown relaxed, but then it deepened, “What are you doing here?”
Xia Siyu, who had been worried she’d come to the wrong place, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Bo Yan and asked directly, “Is the audition happening here?”
Bo Yan replied expressionlessly, “You’re late, the audition is already over.”
Xia Siyu just uttered an “Oh,” not taking his words to heart, and pushed open the door to the audition area beside her..